Prescription painkiller fraud: dozens of Gold Coast women scammed raising serious questions about identity theft

DOZENS of mothers and young women are being flagged as ‘drug seekers’ after a brazen scheme to steal identities and con doctors into prescribing painkillers hit several Gold Coast medical centres.

DOZENS of mothers and young professional women are flagged as drug seekers because a former classmate used a brazen scheme to steal their identities to con doctors into prescribing strong narcotic painkillers.

The addict exploited large, busy medical centres after learning which clinics her former Helensvale State High School mates used, then posed as them to score hard-to-get drugs and pain medication.

The innocent victims, including nurses, law students and breastfeeding mums, fear they now have black marks against their names and have been classified as potential junkies, which they say has put their futures at risk.

There is also concern the addict’s scam could be the tip of an iceberg in a scheme used by addicts to exploit lax identity checks at surgeries.

Endone, a powerful narcotic, has been targeted by the brazen fraudsters.

It is understood all the fraudster had to do was give a name to medical centre staff and tell them Medicare details were “already in the system”, and she would see a doctor and be given scripts for painkillers. The prescriptions would also include other personal information of the person whose identity she was using, making future approaches to doctors for drug prescriptions easier.

Alleged victims say it is a big failure of the health system and raises serious questions surrounding identity theft.

“Something needs to change,” one victim told the Bulletin as she commented on a viral social media post about the fraud. It had been shared by 116 people and had attracted almost 900 comments this week.

“The health care system needs tighter identification upon appointments and pharmacies when you’re filling out scripts. In this case the system has failed and (they’re) able to get away with it,” she said.

But it was not just for prescription painkillers.

Some women say their medical records state they have visited abortion clinics up to five times.

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rA number of women say they will find it hard to trust their GP with sensitive information in light of the scams.

“I think I’ll find it hard to trust my GP with sensitive information now,” said another woman affected by the scam, which has largely targeted former Helensvale High students now aged in their mid-20s.

“She used the fact that I am a health professional to convince the GP she knew what she needed for her symptoms, which is impersonation on another level entirely.”

Another woman told the Bulletin: “I just felt sick.”

Police confirmed they were investigating and had a person of interest.

Victims said there were about 40 people affected.

Police said several women had come forward to make complaints this week.

The Bulletin understands police have received complaints dating back to November.

Acting Senior Sergent Holly James of Surfers Paradise police said the matter highlighted how careful people must be about sharing personal information.

“People put so much information online now that it makes it easier for offenders,” Sen-Sgt James said.

“We would encourage people to report the matter as soon as possible. When people have their identities stolen it impacts on their credit ratings and a range of other matters, and then they (victims) have to prove it wasn’t them.”

Some of the targeted prescription drugs include Valium, Endone, Restavit, Xanax and Temaze

The Bulletin understands at least eight large medical centres have been targeted across the Gold Coast.

When the Bulletin approached a busy centre and asked for comment from the practice manager, a staff member said “unfortunately we give no comment, sorry” and abruptly hung up.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said the misuse of painkillers was a growing issue.

She said the department was working with federal agencies to improve monitoring.

“Misuse of prescription painkillers, known as Schedule 8 (S8) drugs, is an increasing concern not just in Queensland but across Australia and internationally and we are responding,” she said in a statement.

“Queensland is one of the few states that currently has an S8 prescription drug monitoring program that records patients’ dispensing histories.

“From 1 October 2017, Queensland upgraded from monthly reporting of controlled drugs dispensed to weekly reporting.

”People put so much information out online that it makes it easy for the offenders.” Sen-Sgt James said.

“While the national system is being worked on, Queensland has a robust and effective regulatory prescription monitoring system in place to protect consumers and the community.”

The Office of the Queensland Health Ombudsman said it did not release information about complaints or investigations, but said concerned parties could make a complaint.

“Anyone with information that raises concerns about the conduct, performance or health of a practitioner is encouraged to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Health Ombudsman,” the statement read.

The Department of Human Services said it could not comment on any particular investigation.

However, a spokesman said people could reduce the risk of fraud by keeping Medicare details secure and ensuring the information is not shared with anyone.

Anyone concerned about personal information or who noticed unusual activity on their Medicare online account should contact the department’s Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk on 1800 941 126, which was available Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.